Bharatendu Harishchandra (9 September 18506 January 1885) was an Indian

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

, and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

. He authored several

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

s, biographical sketches, and travel accounts with the goal of influencing public opinion. Bharatendu Harishchandra is often considered the father of modern Hindi literature and

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

. Some modern Indian authors have described him as a '' Yug Charan'' for his writing depicting the exploitative nature of the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. Writing under the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

"Rasa," Harishchandra explored themes that portrayed the struggles of the Indian people. His works addressed issues such as

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

, dependency, British tyranny, middle-class unrest, and need for societal progress. Harishchandra opposed the conventional

orthodoxy Orthodoxy () is adherence to a purported "correct" or otherwise mainstream- or classically-accepted creed, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical co ...

of the time and the manipulations of religious leaders. He is described by some as an influential

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

traditionalist who used

Vaishnava Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, '' Mahavishnu''. It is one of the major Hindu denominations along wit ...

devotion to define a coherent

Hindu religion Hinduism () is an umbrella term for a range of Indian religious and spiritual traditions ( ''sampradaya''s) that are unified by adherence to the concept of ''dharma'', a cosmic order maintained by its followers through rituals and right ...

Biography

Bharatendu Harishchandra was born in

Benaras Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of ...

into a wealthy family. His father Girdhar Das was a poet and both his parents died when he was young. His ancestors were landlords in

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

. An important event in Harishchandra's life was Bharatendu's journey at the age of 15 to the

Jagannath temple The Jagannath Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Jagannath, a form of Vishnu in Hinduism. It is located in Puri in the state of Odisha, situated on the eastern coast of India. As per temple records, King Indradyumna of Avanti (reg ...

with his family in 1865, described by Acharya Ramchandra Shukla. According to records, during this trip, he was deeply moved by the

Bengal Renaissance The Bengal Renaissance (), also known as the Bengali Renaissance, was a cultural, social, intellectual, and artistic movement that took place in the Bengal region of the British Raj, from the late 18th century to the early 20th century. Histo ...

and decided to translate social, historical, and

Puranic Puranas (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
(1995 Editio ...

plays and novels into Hindi. This decision was reflected in his Hindi translation of the Bengali drama '' Vidyasundar,'' three years later, in 1868. By age 17, Harishchandra was known for his literary talents. Harishchandra edited the magazines '' Kavi Vachan Sudha'',
Harishchandra Magazine
', and '' Bala Bodhini.'' He wrote under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

Girdhar Das. He was titled "Bharatendu" ("The moon of India") at a public meeting by scholars of Kashi in 1880 in recognition of his services as a writer, patron, and modernizer. Ram Vilas Sharma refers to the "great literary awakening ushered in under Bharatendu's leadership" as the "second story of the edifice of renascent Hindi", the first being the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

. Harishchandra was married and had one daughter.

Hindu traditionalism

According to Barbara and Thomas R. Metcalf, Harishchandra was a Hindu traditionalist in North India, promoting the continuity of received tradition and self-conscious participation with the modern world. He rejected the authority of those engaged with Western learning and institutions over Hindu religious matters and recommended they be left to traditionally educated Hindu scholars. He used new media, especially publications, to shape public opinion. In doing so, he contributed to the development of modern forms of the

Hindi language Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of the Government of India, alongside English, and is the ''li ...

. Harishchandra used

devotion to try and define a coherent

religion, using as his institutional base the Kashi Dharma Sabha, which was started in the 1860s by the Maharaja of Benares as a response to more radical Hindu reformist movements. Harishchandra insisted on the value of image worship and interpreted

Bhakti ''Bhakti'' (; Pali: ''bhatti'') is a term common in Indian religions which means attachment, fondness for, devotion to, trust, homage, worship, piety, faith, or love.See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. In Indian religions, it ...

as devotion to a single god; this was in response to Orientalist and Christian critiques of Hinduism. Although Urdu has been used as the

lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...

across North India since the 18th Century, Harishchandra espoused the cause of reviving Hindi as part of his cultural and nationalist activities. He started a campaign to promote the use of

Swadeshi The Swadeshi movement was a self-sufficiency movement that was part of the Indian independence movement and contributed to the development of Indian nationalism. Before the BML Government's decision for the partition of Bengal was made public in ...

articles with demands for replacement of Urdu by Hindi in courts and for a ban on

cattle slaughter in India Cattle slaughter in India refers to the slaughter and consumption of Bovinae, bovine species in India. A controversial phenomenon due to cattle's status as adored and respected beings to adherents of Dharmic religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, J ...

. He continued his campaign for a legal ban on cow slaughter on behalf of the Maharaja of Benares, taking it to the Delhi Durbar. According to Sahay, his petition on the ban had 60,000 signatories and was submitted to Lord Lytton. Though no action was taken on the ban, he was given the title "Vir Vaishnava".

Major works

Plays

Bharatendu Harishchandra soon became a director, manager, and playwright. He used theatre as a tool to shape public opinion. His major plays are: * '' Vaidika Himsa Na Bhavati'', 1873 (वैदिक हिंसा न भवति) * ''Satya Harishchandra'', 1876 (सत्य हरिश्चन्द्र) * '' Bharat Durdasha'', 1875 * ''Niladevi'', 1881 (नीलदेवी) * '' Andher Nagari'' (अन्धेर नगरी, City of Darkness), 1881: A popular play of modern Hindi drama and a political satire. Translated and performed in many Indian languages by prominent Indian directors like B. V. Karanth, Prasanna, Arvind Gaur and Sanjay Upadhyaya.

Poetry

* Bhakta Sarvagya (भक्त सर्वज्ञ) * Prem Malika (प्रेम मालिका), 1872 * Prem Madhuri (प्रेम माधुरी), 1875 * Prem Tarang (प्रेम तरंग),1877 * Prem Prakalpa (प्रेम प्रकल्प), Prem Phulwari (प्रेम फुलवारी) and Prem Sarowar (प्रेम सरोवर), 1883 * Holi (होली), (1874) * Madhumukul (मधुमुकुल), 1881 * Raga Sangrah (राग संग्रह), 1880 * Varsha Vinod (वर्षा विनोद), 1880 * Vinay Prem Pachasa (विनय प्रेम पचासा), 1881 * Phulon Ka Guchchha (फूलों का गुच्छा), 1882 * Chandravali (चन्द्रावली), 1876 and Krishnacharitra (कृष्णचरित्र), 1883 * Uttarardha Bhaktamal (उत्तरार्द्ध भक्तमाल), 1876–77 * Nij Bhasha (निज भाषा), 1877 * India's Plight (भारत दुर्दशा), 1875

Translations

Harsha Harshavardhana (Sanskrit: हर्षवर्धन; 4 June 590 – 647) was an emperor of Kannauj from April 606 until his death in 647. He was the king of Thanesar who had defeated the Alchon Huns, and the younger brother of Rajyava ...

Ratnavali ''Ratnavali'' ''(Devanagari: रत्नावली ) (transl.- Jewel Necklace or Precious Garland)'' is a Sanskrit drama about a beautiful princess named Ratnavali, and a great king named Udayana. It is attributed to the Indian emperor Hars ...

(रत्नावली) * Vishakhadatta's

Mudrarakshasa The Mudrārākshasa (मुद्राराक्षस, IAST: ''Mudrārākṣasa'', ) is a Sanskrit-language play by Vishakhadatta that narrates the ascent of the Emperor Chandragupta Maurya ( BCE) to power in India. The play is an exampl ...

(मुद्राराक्षस) *

Ramprasad Sen ( 1723/1718 – c. 1775) was a Hindu Shakta poet and saint of 18th-century Bengal. His '' bhakti'' poems, known as Ramprasadi, are still popular in Bengal—they are usually addressed to the Hindu goddess Kali and written in Bengali ...

's Vidyasundar (विद्यासुन्दर) from Bengali * Karpuramanjari (कर्पूरमञ्जरी) from Prakrit *

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's ''

Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...

'' as Durlabh Bandhu (दुर्लभ बन्धु) ''Invaluable Friend''

Essay collection

* Bharatendu Granthavali (भारतेन्दु ग्रन्थावली), 1885

Bharatendu Harishchandra Awards

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of India has given the Bharatendu Harishchandra Awards since 1983 to promote original Hindi mass communication writings.

References

External links

* * *
Bharatendu Harishchandra
at Kavita Kosh (Hindi)
Plays of Bharatendu Harishchandra
at Gadya Kosh
Poetry by Bharatendu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harishchandra, Bharatendu 1850 births 1885 deaths Writers from Varanasi Hindi dramatists and playwrights Hindi-language journalists Hindi-language poets Hindi theatre Indian magazine editors Novelists from British India Male actors from British India Indian theatre directors Journalists from British India Poets from British India 19th-century Indian journalists 19th-century Indian poets 19th-century Indian novelists Dramatists and playwrights from British India 19th-century Indian male actors Indian male poets 19th-century Indian male writers